For a time, things continued as they always had. But something was off. Angelica had thrown herself into convincing me to stop the wars with new fervor, and our conflicts grew more and more numerous.
Furthermore, Angelica’s purity was weakening. She was losing the focus that I so admired. Eventually, I grew so worried that I confronted her.
“Angelica. Are you ok? You have been distant lately?”
“I'm fine. I'm just… working on something”
Something in her voice was off but I paid it no heed. Trust, right?
“Ok” I replied “If you need help just ask”
She left without a word.
Two months later, she asked for my help.
She asked me to take her to the hottest star, and give her the strongest of metals. I obliged without a second thought. I would do almost anything for my Angelica. I told her as much.
She wanted to forge a blade. I fashioned a hammer for her. Wrought out of the essence of a back hole and tempered with the concept of fire.
“Are you ready?”
She nodded, more determined than I had seen her in years. I was happy to see her finding her purity once more. I let my lips meet hers, and lent my power to the focus of her purity. I felt it immediately. I normally let her have her privacy, but this merger allowed none.
Her focus was greater than ever. A jumbled sea of rage, sorrow, helplessness, and a thousand others united in purpose.
“Are you sure about this?” I questioned.
“Yes, Trust me”
I took a long look at her. Her mind was a mess but the strongest of all her emotions, determination, united the mess of her heart behind her soul. I decided to trust her.
The forging process took both a blink and an eternity. She drew upon my power as she hammered and folded that star-metal. With every blow, she infused another concept, creating an intricate web of concepts. Death, destruction, chaos, binding, entropy, and countless other concepts went into the forging of that intricate blade. I was beginning to worry. I saw where the concepts were going. Infinity scattering. Eternity shattering. God-slaying. It was worrying. Still, I remembered her last words.
Trust me
Trust is the root of love. I hesitated, then came to a decision. Angelica would never hurt anybody. There had to be another reason for forging such a blade. I would trust her. Even as I made that decision, I felt a current of warmth spread through me. Conceptual warmth, like the light of the sun. The light of love. I smiled. I was beginning to understand.
Angelica continued the forging. With every blow, the endless web of concepts aligned itself more. I poured power and knowledge into her, and I directly modified the blade, strengthening and correcting her design.
Angelica lifted her blade for the final blow. I poured my power into her, weaving idealized god-slaying intent into it. She gathered all my unfocused power and condensed it to the utmost degree. I quickly corrected the last of the minuscule errors. I was excited now. To help her create something like this, to help her find her purity again? It felt good. I felt closer than ever to understanding love.
“Finish it love!” my voice boomed in encouragement.
She brought the hammer down with a tremendous boom that echoed throughout space. The hammer shattered and space cracked. I protected Angelica with my power, and we watched as the sword consumed everything in its vicinity. It needed that power to solidify and confirm its intent and power. I opened a conduit to infinity and connected it to the blade. Power poured into it and with a crack like heaven itself breaking, the blade annihilated everything in a perfect sphere around it. With a wave of my hand, I forced space back into position and teleported us to the blade. It was a one-edged, slightly curved blade. A katana, as they would call it now. An elegant and simple blade that shimmered with hidden power and ended in a grip of woven starlight. Its true beauty was the concepts woven within it. Intricate weavings of death in destruction augmented themselves and drew power from infinity itself. It was a blade meant to slay the unkillable.
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She named it God-slayer in a trembling voice.
“Excellent job love! I couldn't have done better myself!”
Strangely enough, though, she was not smiling. She wasn't even remotely happy.
I grew concerned, but I didn't want to impede on her moment.
“Claim the sword dear. It's yours”
She was hesitant, and strangely enough my encouragement only seemed to further her hesitation. She turned to me suddenly,
“Would you ever destroy humanity?”
I was surprised.
“Why?”
She was trembling now, hints of tears appearing in her brilliant azure eyes.
“Would you destroy humanity if we failed you? If we don’t become what you hope we will become?”
“Wh…”
“Would you!” she screamed, a chaotic mix of fear, anger, heartbreak, and a thousand other emotions pouring off of her. “I see how you treat the so-called mortals! So let me ask you this! If they cast aside all aspirations of divinity, and contented themselves to the earth, what would you do?”
“My love, I don’t see how this is re-”
“WHAT WOULD YOU DO!?” she screamed, tears pouring from her eyes.
Honesty is a human quality. To state the subjective as truth is arrogance beyond belief. Yet in that moment. That terribly confusing moment, it was all I had. The only tool of love I had. So, I doubled down. I had been honest so far, and I would be honest to the end.
“I… Yes. If they failed to appreciate the chance I gave them. If they stopped striving to be the best they could possibly be. If they contented themselves with the dirt. Then… yes. I would start anew. But I don't think that will ever beco–. What are you doing?”
The moment she heard my answer, that confusion and fear became determination. A single movement aligned with the purpose of soul. She drew the blade, and pointed it at the center of my essence.
Then she CUT.
Space split, and the void threatened to swallow my creation. I reacted instinctively, lashing out with a hint of power and blasting her back.
“What are you doing!” I boomed once more, louder this time.
“Saving humanity! If I allow you to live you will destroy my people!”
“If they ever descended to the point where I was forced to destroy them, they wouldn't be humanity anymore!”
She ignored my words and screamed back,
“I have seen the way you talked of the past civilizations! The way every lifeform will inevitably fail to meet your standards! The way you inevitably are ‘forced’ to kill them all! I see how you treat humanity! Like ants, crawling under your boot! How could I let you destroy my people like all those that came before!”
I was furious now, my blossoming love only feeding the flames of my fury.
“It was my right! I created them!”
“And why do you get to decide?!”
I was beyond furious now. My soul manifested in an implosion of space. My eyes swirled with infinity as I released the full force of my enraged presence.
“BECAUSE I AM GOD”
All of creation trembled and Angelica was rocketed back, even protected by God-Slayer. The stars dimmed and the planets shook. I immediately retracted my power and stabilized my mind, shocked at my loss of control. Was this the power of love?
Angelica was badly wounded. Yet, even near death, she was relentless, weakly raising the blade to strike again. I stepped forward, and I caught the blade in a single starry hand.
“How?!”
I was in control now, but the anger and pain in my voice was still something to behold.
“You are no god. You cannot truly wield the blade”
Her eyes flashed,
“Then I will end you with my hands!”
She lunged at me, and I caught her throat in a single hand. I began to squeeze, watching as she trashed and squirmed. The stars shone their light upon us, witnesses to divine punishment. Her eyes pierced into me, as determined in death as in life. Her words came to me, Would you destroy humanity if we failed you? If we don’t become what you hope we will become? Now she was getting the answer. Yes, I would destroy them. Yet… why do you get to decide?! I had been so close. I had almost touched love. Almost escaped my lonesomeness. The stars stood witness as I yelled in frustration and threw her unconscious body away.
“Why did you do this! WHY!”
With one final roar, I cast her back down to earth, and after a second, cast the sword down with her. The last creation we had made together. An eternal reminder of her.
I stood in place, wrestling with the tempest inside. I had always been surprised at the irrationality of mortals. Now, I understand. I wanted nothing more than to shred creation to nothing. My emotion boiled within me, and in a moment of vindictive spite, I cut them from myself one by one, feeling power return to me as I cast aside the shred of mortality eroding at my divinity.
I had not realized how weakened I had been before my power returned to me.
The celestial bodies witnessed my defeated return.
And they witnessed the truth I had begun to forget.
I would always be alone.
Inside, a void began to grow.